New desktop computer?

First thing is definitely get a external HD and back up photos and important docs. They are dirt cheap with 1TB under $50 and 2TB around $75. On older machines plain mechanical failure can set in. I have a 5 year old desktop that recently had a hard drive fail. When you get a black screen saying "no boot disk present", it is a very bad feeling. I replaced it, and put the old drive in an enclosure. I was able to retrieve some data but much was corrupted or inaccessible. Better yet, get 2 external hard drives. Keep one back up and give the other to someone at another location incase a disaster (like a fire) destroys the computer and back up you kept in the drawer.